Welcome to Industry Focus, the podcast that dives into a different sector of the stock market every day. It's Tuesday, May 15th, and I'm your host, Vincent Shen. We have an awesome discussion in store for you today, Fools, because we're in the middle of our latest theme week, international theme week. If you tune into this show regularly, you're aware that Industry Focus is a U.S.-based podcast. We talk mostly about the U.S. stock market. As a result, we spend most of our time focused on domestic companies. But there's a whole world of stocks out there, and no...

WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF INSPIRATIONAL? (THIS!) Wal-Mart vs. The Morons 1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart Every hour of every day. 2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute! 3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year. 4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target +Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined. 5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people, is the world's largest private employer, and most speak English. 6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the world. 7. Wal-Mart now sells more...

As some of you know, I have sort of a reputation for finding great deals. Anyway, one open "secret" is that Walmart has become very competitive with Amazon. Now, I am not crazy about shopping at Walmart on weekends (and I don't need to tell you what a nightmare that can be) but I have gotten a lot of great deals where I merely walk into the front of the store on weekdays and pick up stuff I ordered online. Well, right now they have a great deal where you don't even need to go to the store and you...

‘Unarmed’ black man killed in Walmart parking lot by police officers firing 'dozens of bullets' into packed carPolice have shot and killed a 26-year-old black man in a packed car outside of a Walmart in what his family say was an overly aggressive police response that led to an unnecessary death. Police in Barstow, California killed Diante Yarber, a father of three, earlier this month after attempting to stop the vehicle he was in. A report from Barstow police says that Mr Yarber was “wanted for questioning” in a stolen vehicle case, and that he struck two patrol cars before...

HIGH POINT, N.C. – A former Walmart employee who’s charged with sexually assaulting two boys also worked at the store as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. That’s according to a police report. Caleb Bowers, 20, appeared in court on Monday and was given a $2,000,000 bond. Bowers who’s from Trinity, was arrested after two separate incidents involving sexual assault inside the High Point Walmart store on South Main Street.

HARRISBURG, IL — Some people in Illinois picked up dinner and a show last week at their local Walmart. Mason Ramsey, 10, was there and just started singing. He's now known as "The Yodeling Boy" for his rendition of Hank Williams' Lovesick Blues. The little yodeler has since gone viral for his Walmart concert with dozens of funny memes that have him singing with rappers and rockers. Walmart is loving the free publicity too. They've decided to throw a concert at Mason's hometown Walmart in Harrisburg, Illinois.

A Georgia mother gave her 13-year-old son a lesson in humility after she noticed he was belittling his classmates at school for shopping at stores like Walmart and Goodwill. Cierra Brittany Forney, fed up with her son’s “entitled” attitude, decided to serve him a slice of humble pie by making him shop at the Goodwill store he mocked his classmates for shopping at—and posted about the experience on Facebook. “I don’t tolerate that,” Forney wrote. “Today, he took his own ($20) to the goodwill to buy clothes to wear the entire week to school. Whatever he found is what he...

Walmart is removing the sex-obsessed, pro-abortion women’s magazine “Cosmopolitan” from its checkout shelves. The retail chain announced the change this week after considering concerns raised by parents and conservative groups about the content of the magazine, USA Today reports. “While this was primarily a business decision, the concerns raised were heard,” Walmart spokesperson Meggan Kring said. “Cosmpolitan” often displays scantily clad women on its front covers, along with headlines promoting risky sexual behavior and other objectionable content. It also regularly advocates for abortion on demand. Inside its pages, Cosmo has criticized late-term abortion bans and justified eugenic abortions of disabled...

A funny thing happened to Walmart during the past five years: The retailer -- known for its Arkansas roots and its red-state appeal -- has made inroads with left-leaning shoppers. A majority of shoppers who identify as Democrats now say they would consider shopping at Walmart, a shift from just five years ago when slightly more than four out of 10 said they would buy from the store. Democrats also say they now view Walmart in a positive light, while five years ago their perception was negative. Walmart has also increased its workers' pay and spoken out against anti-gay laws,...

The nation's largest retailer has bounced Cosmopolitan from the coveted checkout aisle following a years-long campaign targeting the women's magazine for its "hyper-sexualized" covers and content. Walmart said Tuesday that it was removing the magazine from checkout lines at its 5,000 stores across the country. "Walmart will continue to offer Cosmopolitan to customers that wish to purchase the magazine, but it will no longer be in the checkout aisles," the company said in a statement. "While this was primarily a business decision, the concerns raised were heard." Those concerns were raised by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which compares...

The nation's largest retailer has bounced Cosmopolitan from the coveted checkout aisle following a years-long campaign targeting the women's magazine for its "hyper-sexualized" covers and content. Walmart said Tuesday that it was removing the magazine from checkout lines at its 5,000 stores across the country. "Walmart will continue to offer Cosmopolitan to customers that wish to purchase the magazine, but it will no longer be in the checkout aisles," the company said in a statement. "While this was primarily a business decision, the concerns raised were heard." Those concerns were raised by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which compares...

A Metairie man walked with a machete into a Kenner Walmart and used the weapon to try to kidnap a 2-year-old boy and then an infant, swinging the blade at store employees before he was tackled and arrested Friday (March 23), police said. At one point, police said, Billy Yoe Budier-Herrera, 33, forced a mother to struggle for her child and to take refuge behind the store's deli counter, moments before store employees and an off-duty Kenner police officer working a detail subdued Budier-Herrera inside the Walmart Supercenter, at 8912 Veterans Blvd. Budier-Herrera was booked with two counts of second-degree...

It was supposed to be 17 minutes of silent protest in honor of the 17 people killed last week in Parkland, Florida, in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But on the south side of Chicago Wednesday morning, there was no silence as students who walked out of nearby Simeon Career Academy trashed a Walmart during their walkout protest. Dozens of student walked out of Simeon at the appointed time of the protest, only to enter Walmart and knock over store displays and rip products off the shelves. Video of the aftermath shows aisles trashed and there...

Chicago police are trying to identify the dozens of students from Simeon Career Academy who they say took part in a vandalism spree while they were supposed to be protesting guns. Shoppers and store employees were stunned by the destruction Wednesday morning at the Walmart in Chatham Market on the South Side. Chicago police say it started when students at neighboring Simeon Career Academy were allowed to leave the school for 17 minutes to take part in the nationwide walkout to protest guns. Police say between 40 and 60 of those students crossed the street and trashed parts of the...

Last week, at least two dozen producers who ship milk to Dean Foods in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Ohio were told they have until May 31, 2018 to find a new home for their milk. “Unfortunately, Dean Foods has made the difficult decision to end milk procurement contracts with a number of farmers in about 90 days,” says Reace Smith director of corporate communications at Dean Foods. “We regret this decision had to be made.” If this sounds familiar that’s because, almost one year ago, producers in Wisconsin were told by their processor, Grassland Dairy, that they...

With Amazon Prime fees jumping up another $2/month for only monthly subscribers, you might be wondering if your membership is really worth it. Especially since Walmart now offers free two-day shipping without a membership (plus, at Walmart you can have your groceries delivered right to your car!). We decided to compare a sample of Amazon’s prices (not factoring in the Prime membership fee) with Walmart’s everyday low prices. The verdict? Generally, Amazon beats Walmart for makeup, baby supplies, toys, and pet supplies (unless you’re using coupons!). But when it comes to groceries, cleaning supplies, medicine and personal care, Walmart is...

Despite clear federal laws barring discrimination against pregnant workers, some corporations still unlawfully treat pregnant employees as if they are second-class citizens. In the latest case to make the news, Walmart refused to make a reasonable accommodation for pregnant employee Whitney Tomlinson in Atlanta after her doctor directed her to avoid heavy lifting for the duration of her pregnancy. Instead of accommodating the request by temporarily assigning her to a different department, Walmart’s human resources department told Tomlinson she needed to apply for unpaid leave from her job — leave she did not want and could not afford. According to...

A handful of large American retail companies are changing their gun sales policies in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., shooting that took the lives of 17 people. Dick’s Sporting Goods The nation’s largest outdoor sports retailer announced Wednesday that it will no longer sell AR-15 style rifles like the one Cruz used in the Florida shooting. The company also said it will not sell guns to anyone under the age of 21-years-old. “As we sat and talked about it with our management team, it was — to a person — that this is what we need to do,” Dick’s...

about a third of all states ban discrimination based on age in places of public accommodation, and some of those statutes may well ban refusal to sell guns to 18-to-20-year-olds. ...Likewise, some cities and counties have similar ordinances (even if their states don't)

Kroger announced Thursday that it will not longer sell firearms or ammunition to persons under 21 years of age. The grocery chain sells guns and ammunition at its Fred Meyer stores in the western U.S. Those sales will continue but persons under the age of 21 will be prohibited from purchase. CNN Money reports that Kroger released a statement, saying, “In response to the tragic events in Parkland and elsewhere, we’ve taken a hard look at our policies and procedures for firearm sales. Recent events demonstrate the need for additional action on the part of responsible gun retailers.”